Hp 48GX Black or Blue Display?

[Hiwi]

Hi Jonathan,
is the defect that what we can see in your attachment on the HP48+ on the bottom left corner?

And yes i bought a HP48GX Made in Indonesia with blue display. It came new in a sealed box from our official local HP Dealer. I have never seen HP48 in blister packs, are they only from China?

Ralf

[Jonathan Busby]

(11-23-2023 02:27 PM)Hiwi Wrote:  Hi Jonathan,
is the defect that what we can see in your attachment on the HP48+ on the bottom left corner?

Those aren't my attachments ( and I don't see the defect if we're referring to the same images ) Unfortunately, the Indonesian models with the defects were only manufactured for a short time around 2001 or 2002 or so ( I can't remember when more precisely ) and the one I bought I returned. So, I don't have any photos of its display :/

Quote:And yes i bought a HP48GX Made in Indonesia with blue display. It came new in a sealed box from our official local HP Dealer.

This must have been a very early Indonesian model because I've never seen anything like that in the wild. Around 2001 or 2002 the only HP48GXs available from major retailers were Indonesian models that came in blister packs. I remember seeing the blister packs -- dozens of them -- being sold by retailers like Office Depot, Office Max, Fry's Electronics etc.

Quote:I have never seen HP48 in blister packs, are they only from China?

From what I remember from circa 2001 to 2002, the *only* form of packaging in which major retailers were selling HP48GXs were blister packs. I can't be sure, but I think that at first most of the units were manufactured in Indonesia and then perhaps changed to China, but I don't remember ever having seen the Chinese HP48GXs with the "black on light gray" screen in any store. Around the aforementioned time, I did contact Samson Cables, as I was looking for said Chinese HP48GXs, and they indicated to me that they had never seen or heard of anything like the units about which I was inquiring. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the e-mail response Samson Cables sent me as at that time I was using the email account provided by my ISP and not gmail ( Gmail didn't even exist yet. I got an invite from a fellow HP48 hacker some time a little before Jan 22, 2005 ).

Regards,

Jonathan

[Hiwi]

Jonathan,
actually there are some 48G+ and 48GX on ebay with blue display and 'Made in Indonesia'.
The serialnumbers begin with ID8, ID9, ID0
Is this the production year? so 1998,1999 and 2000?
Ralf

[Hiwi]

Here are my dailies. The 48G is a 'Made in Indonesia' with blue display, smaller font with Metakernel installed. The HP48 is 'Made in USA' which had a poor low contrast display. I converted it with a HP49 donor black display.
The black display seems to be a bit better, but i am convenient with the blue form the HP48G, so no desire to convert it, although i have bought some very cheap HP39/49 from ebay last time.
Ralf

   

[Jonathan Busby]

(11-27-2023 10:10 AM)Hiwi Wrote:  Jonathan,
actually there are some 48G+ and 48GX on ebay with blue display and 'Made in Indonesia'.
The serialnumbers begin with ID8, ID9, ID0
Is this the production year? so 1998,1999 and 2000?
Ralf

Well, I didn't intend to give the impression that I was doubting you, just that, from what I've seen, the Indonesian models with a blue display seem to have been manufactured for a very short time, hence their rarity.

As regards the "ID8" serial numbers, that's indeed Indonesian, but what's strange is the very early date, namely 1998. AFAIK, I thought that the HP48GX, up until some time before 1999 or 2000, had only been manufactured in Singapore.

I have an HP48GX with a blue display that was manufactured in Singapore around 1995 and another that was manufactured in Singapore circa 1997 or 1998 ( Sorry for the lack of an exact date, but the latter calculator is part of my collection -- not one of my "workhorse" calculators -- and I don't feel like getting it out of its box while treating everything like some sort of gossamer glass ). So, it would appear that HP, at one time, was manufacturing HP48GXs in Indonesia at the same time they were manufacturing them in Singapore, but apparently for a very short time.

I think 1997 or 1998 were the last years HP manufactured any HP48GXs in Singapore. But, it's strange that the Indonesian models with the blue display were being manufactured in 2000, as that's when I thought HP had transitioned to the "black-on-light-tan" or "black-on-light-grey" ( mainly Chinese models ) displays.

Anyways, seeing as these are on TAS ( eBay ), I'd be a little suspicious because of the large amount of counterfeit items in listings. That at least applies to Nokia N900s and N9s, as one can hardly find *any* on TAS, or even a non-auction retailer, that aren't counterfeits from Shenzhen China.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Jonathan Busby]

(12-04-2023 08:32 AM)Hiwi Wrote:  The 48G is a 'Made in Indonesia' with blue display,

Interesting... Can you post the serial number?

Quote:The HP48 is 'Made in USA' which had a poor low contrast display.

If it has a low contrast display, then it was a very early model from around 1994, with a display that was perhaps the same part as used in the HP48SX as HP was transitioning from manufacturing HP48S/SXs to HP48G/GXs at the time ( In fact, and maybe this isn't accurate, but I think around 1993, HP had transitioned to a universal PCB that could accommodate either a Clarke or Yorke SoC and that very late production runs of the HP48S/SXs and very early production runs of the HP48G/GXs used the same PCB. I have a vague memory of Dave Arnett or someone else from HP mentioning this, but I can't be sure... Here's Dave on the subject : " In fact, the G-series circuit board is equipped to build either an S-series OR a G-series on the same PCB. )

If the above calc has "Made in USA" abutting the serial number to the left, then I'm afraid that its collector's value has been harmed by the screen replacement I've only seen one HP48GX that has the blue, low contrast SX-like display. These were very early models that were made in 1994, in the US ( Corvallis? ), before HP transitioned to manufacturing their calcs in Singapore.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Hiwi]

Hi Jonathan,

my HP48 from Indonesia has the serial ID82800996. This unit I bought from a dealer in Germany.

I have an HP48G+ with black display from Indonesia which has the serialnumber ID14003557

And a friend of mine has an HP48G+ with blue display Made in Indonesia :-) early production.

May be there were some blue displays left when the production turned to Indonesia.

Ralf

[Hiwi]

Here is a picture from a 2003 HP48G+
with black display as comparison.
Ralf
   

[Jonathan Busby]

(12-06-2023 12:40 PM)Hiwi Wrote:  Here is a picture from a 2003 HP48G+
with black display as comparison.
Ralf

Thanks for the photo

That's the same type of Indonesian model I have, which has a black-on-light-tan display. The HP49G, and purportedly some Chinese-made HP48GXs had a black-on-light-grey display, possibly with the same display part as the HP49G. I've never seen a Chinese manufactured HP48GX with this display in the wild though.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Jonathan Busby]

(12-05-2023 08:06 AM)Hiwi Wrote:  Hi Jonathan,

my HP48 from Indonesia has the serial ID82800996. This unit I bought from a dealer in Germany.

I have an HP48G+ with black display from Indonesia which has the serialnumber ID14003557

And a friend of mine has an HP48G+ with blue display Made in Indonesia :-) early production.

May be there were some blue displays left when the production turned to Indonesia.

Ralf

Well, the "ID82800996" was manufactured in 1998 -- quite early for an Indonesian model -- maybe that's why it has the blue display?

The "ID14003557" was manufactured in 2001, and I think HP had transitioned to black displays by then.

Regards,

Jonathan

[rprosperi]

(12-06-2023 05:25 PM)Jonathan Busby Wrote:  The "ID14003557" was manufactured in 2001, and I think HP had transitioned to black displays by then.

Agree. I have an "ID14001452" GX with Black LCD and it has not been opened.

If you have a GX with s/n earlier, but still close to this, please post if you have Blue or Black LCD, maybe we can pinpoint when the Black LCD started....

[polbit]

(12-06-2023 05:25 PM)Jonathan Busby Wrote:  

(12-05-2023 08:06 AM)Hiwi Wrote:  Hi Jonathan,

my HP48 from Indonesia has the serial ID82800996. This unit I bought from a dealer in Germany.

I have an HP48G+ with black display from Indonesia which has the serialnumber ID14003557

And a friend of mine has an HP48G+ with blue display Made in Indonesia :-) early production.

May be there were some blue displays left when the production turned to Indonesia.

Ralf

Well, the "ID82800996" was manufactured in 1998 -- quite early for an Indonesian model -- maybe that's why it has the blue display?

The "ID14003557" was manufactured in 2001, and I think HP had transitioned to black displays by then.

Regards,

Jonathan

I have a 48G+ from Indonesia with ID83004782 and blue display

[DavidM]

(12-06-2023 09:05 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  If you have a GX with s/n earlier, but still close to this, please post if you have Blue or Black LCD, maybe we can pinpoint when the Black LCD started....

ID1390XXXX, 48GX with black LCD. Display looks horrible after reset until a contrast adjustment is made. So the default contrast setting is way off the mark for this one. That may have been why I was able to get it. Seller was thinking "I hope he doesn't try to turn it on!" and I was thinking "I hope they don't know about blue vs. black displays!"

[cdmackay]

(12-06-2023 09:05 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  If you have a GX with s/n earlier, but still close to this, please post if you have Blue or Black LCD, maybe we can pinpoint when the Black LCD started....

This old thread suggests that ID045 (2000, week 45) is around when it switched to black.

[rprosperi]

(12-06-2023 11:35 PM)cdmackay Wrote:  

(12-06-2023 09:05 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  If you have a GX with s/n earlier, but still close to this, please post if you have Blue or Black LCD, maybe we can pinpoint when the Black LCD started....

This old thread suggests that ID045 (2000, week 45) is around when it switched to black.

Thanks! I've never seen that thread, or completely forgotten it (it happens...). Randy's word is good enough for me, he's touched more 48's than anyone, so he'd know for sure.

[cdmackay]

(12-07-2023 12:47 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  Thanks! I've never seen that thread, or completely forgotten it (it happens...).

I only had it because I made a special note of it, along with this other one mostly concerned with ROM revision dates.

[carolinahomes]

(12-06-2023 11:35 PM)cdmackay Wrote:  This old thread suggests that ID045 (2000, week 45) is around when it switched to black.

I have a blue display with serial ID04501150
Another gx of note: rom P with #3342S10281
Notice how that's an earlier sn than the 48g listed with Rom M

[carolinahomes]

I came across a seldom-discussed variant today: the worst of all worlds perhaps, yet very cool to have and hold.
An early run 3321 (asee) GX with an SX display. Guess HP had screens in stock they wanted to use up first!

[Kiwi]

For the completeness, please find them all lined up in the picture attached.

From left to right:
- HP48SX (ROM D - USA made) - with retrofitted black LCD screen
- HP48SX (ROM E - USA made) - dark blue with poor contrast
- HP48G (early ROM K - Singapore made) - same LCD as the HP48SX
- HP48GX ASEE edition (ROM L - Singapore made) - same LCD as the HP48SX
- HP48GX (ROM R - Singapore made) - dark blue on light green LCD
- HP48GX (ROM R - Indonesia made) - original black on light tan display

I never saw an original HP48GX with a so called Chinese 'very high contrast black on light grey screen'. Maybe it's a HP48GX with a retrofitted HP49G LCD screen.